Taken from our world at only 28 years of age, Terra was a Rockingham
County resident and a neighbor of Flurry's Hope, Second Chance Ranch.
Terra had a love for horses and was always looking out for ours.

Currently there is no arena or large ring at
Second Chance Ranch. With very little space for riding and
training, our horses and riders are limited in their opportunity to grow
and improve. The horses love to be ridden! They seem to know that
someone has left them and they don't want to languish but move again.
One can see their enjoyment of doing what a horse is meant to do and an
arena would give them a better ability to be exactly who they were made
to be. Click on the link above and see more info at
www.youcaring.com

Any amount is greatly appreciated to
build the arena in Terra's memory ♥

Welcome Hope !!

Joining us from Texas and born
with juvenile cataracts, Flurry's Hope, Second Chance Ranch would
like to introduce you to Hope!!

She
joined Second Chance Ranch February 26, 2014. She seems to love the outside since
she was in a stall quite a bit before she came to us. Hope
particularly loves to kick up those heels, run around the pasture
and come back and stick her head into Mama’s feed bucket even though
she has her own. How does she do that being blind? We are always
amazed at how blind horses act like sighted horses. She’s a spunky
sort and is very social as she adjusts to her new home.

She
will provide courage for all those with disabilities to press on and
enjoy life.

Second Chance Ranch, the Home
of Flurry's Hope

The Story of Flurry’s Hope Flurry’s Hope is named after
Flurry, a blind horse that was given to Dr. Emilie Storch. This horse
became an excellent mount but died suddenly in May of 2007. Because of
her experience with Flurry, Emilie realized that wonderful horses were
being killed just because they were blind. The blindness did not hinder
their abilities to be ridden and enjoyed. As a matter of fact, it often
made them better horses who did not run away, listened to their riders
and who made deeper emotional connections. Flurry’s Hope began with the
vision to rescue these horses heading to an untimely death and to raise
public awareness of their ability to be excellent horses to ride.

We are the only rescue in the country that we know of that rescues blind horses to ride them. Others may rescue them but not specifically to ride them. We believe that the world needs to see that those with disabilities have much to give. We also want to set ourselves apart from the masses of rescues to have a significant point of difference. About 93% of people cannot believe that we ride blind horses and are incredulous because the general feeling is that they are worthless and pitiful. I believe that God has a special plan for each individual (able bodied or disabled) to exercise their God-given gifts and not be destroyed for lack of knowledge.

People get rid of blind horses for one main reason: when a horse is losing his eyesight, he can get jumpy and scared. This is because the horse sees something different every day as his sight degenerates. Unfortunately, many people are afraid the horse's skittish behavior will be permanent. Our experience shows that once a horse becomes blind, the horse develops other senses to a greater degree. Then, the newly blind horse relaxes and learns new ways to live. This process takes very little time.

If you have a horse going blind, my suggestion is to place duct tape on the horse's fly mask to make him completely blind. (See Photo) I recommend that you not try to save the horse's sight. In my experience, a completely blind horse is much safer than a horse who is still struggling to see and jumpy about it. You will be amazed at how quickly a horse adapts to blindness. Then, after a few weeks, you can begin the process of training and riding your horse. You will be amazed!

Horses go blind for many reasons.
Here are some of the ones we have
experienced:

Equine uveitis, a recurrent infection often referred to
as moon blindness.

Traumatic injury to the brain or eye.

Cataracts.

Eyes poked out by
accident.

Sometimes,
horses are born blind.

Want to volunteer with Flurry's Hope? Want to adopt a horse?
Print the
Consent Form and Application and then contact
Emilie Storch. You can
volunteer with your time, your money, your expertise, and your love for
horses - we need you!

All About Fly Masks:

We put fly masks on all of our blind horses. Of course they regularly take them off, but we try. Here's why:

1. Some of their eyes hurt in the sun, especially if they have equine recurrent uveitis.

2. We prefer the horses to be completely blind and fly masks help accomplish this. If horses have any sight at all, they will try to use that and it changes regularly. This can make them jumpy. When horses go completely blind, they give up trying to see altogether and begin depending upon their other senses. Blind horses become very adept at using their hearing, smell, sense of vibration, mental map and other senses we know they must have that we don't have. They calm down quickly and are amazing to watch as they become increasingly confident in moving around and being ridden.

3. Flies are very bothersome and we try to minimize their irritation.

A
Note from our Director, Dr. Emilie Storch

I am continually reminded of Proverbs 31:8 "Speak up for those who
cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."
And Proverbs 24:11-12 "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back
those staggering towards slaughter. If you say. 'But we knew nothing
about this,' does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay
each person according to what he had done?" As you know, Flurry's Hope
is not just about blind horses. It is about redeeming that which is
valuable that others want to throw away. It is saying to the world,
"There is a huge treasure in disability." It is teaching our children
that perfect doesn't exist and there is life in understanding how to
show compassion and value that which is rejected. I believe that
Flurry's Hope is God's way of showing that He brings the dead to life.
Second Chance Ranch is really about the dead living. It is a symbol that
there is always a second chance in life. It is knowing that our faith in
Christ allows us to have hope for anything that seems beyond repair.
These are the messages that we want the world to hear and they are said
so well through blind horses. These horses have no power but, when given
their lives back, give life to others who meet them, ride them and see
redemption with their very own eyes. They allow, through our co-op
program, teenagers who could not afford a horse, to have one of their
own to love, care for and ride at our ranch. This is a beautiful sight
to behold for every horse would love to have an adoring teenager. As
always, I want to reiterate that we know that we could never do this
alone. It is only through "the many" that redemption can come to more
horses.

What are the criteria for accepting a blind horse at Flurry's Hope?

1.
They are blind.

2.
They are below the age of 20 and otherwise healthy.

3.
They can be ridden.

4.
Their lives are in danger.

5. We have room in our program.

We
get requests every week to take in wonderful horses who are
going to die. Earlier this year, Dr. Storch was overwhelmed with
requests, and it took us a little while to sort through them.
When she contacted the group who had a mother and blind baby,
they told her that they had been killed just the day before. A
baby was killed just because of its blindness. We were one
day too late. That was something we think we will never forget.
Here is a picture of Promise, the Thoroughbred who was saved by
a noble vet; she was to be killed as a three-month-old blind
baby. She spent some time learning dressage from Dierdre
Kevorkian,who is one of our board members. Promise now lives at
Second Chance Ranch. She is a
phenomenal horse who would have been sold for $25,000, if she
had sight.

The mission of Flurry’s Hope is to show
the treasure in blind horses and their potential for riding. We
offer help to others in learning how to care for and train their blind
horses.

We are located on 30 beautiful acres at
the corner of Lowe and Sharp Roads in
Madison, NC. Our ministry is not only
to provide a sanctuary for blind horses but all kinds of second
chances happen here. It seems that the hearts of all who hear about
us resonate to the message that we must provide second chances in life
to everyone. This is how we can see God's redemptive nature at work.
It's never too late for God to redeem our lives. No matter what has
happened... no matter what shape we are in... God can always do
amazing things... better than we thought, hoped or even dreamed!

Blind
Horses are
Outta Sight!

We have cool T-Shirts printed
for our Flurry's Hope fans - you should have at least one!

Color and size selections may be limited, so please specify alternatives in
the PayPal 'notes' section. $20 price includes shipping and any applicable
taxes.

Would you please make a
contribution? Our work is supported only by donations from caring people like you.
Donations to
Flurry's Hope will help fund further public awareness and help for
blind horses. We are a 501(c)3
organization and your donations are tax deductible. Our
suggested donation to accept a horse is $300. To ADOPT one of our wonderful horses is $300.

Please send your
donations to:

570 Lowe Rd

Madison, NC 27025

You can also click to make your donation via Secure PayPal. We
appreciate any amount that you can give, and everything you give will go
directly to the work. Our volunteers take no salary, so that you can
make a difference. Thank
you!

Want some books about horses and others who deserve second chances? Learn more about this and other books
by following this link to
www.restingplacebooks.com.